Mud-shoe.



T. KURRI-LI., H. SCHNEIDER 6L I. HELIVIS.

MUD SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I6 1917. 1,266,492.

Patented Maty 14, 1918.

- D sin'.ritsl rATEnTi onirica.

THEODGRKURREIL, HEINRICH SCHNEIDER, AND JULIUS I-IEIMS, 0F SAN FRAN-CISCO,

` CALIFORNIA.

MUD-snort Application filed August 16, 1917.k serialfo. 18613689.

.To all zo kom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, THEoDoR KURRELL,

HEINRICH SCHNEIDER, and JULIUS HELMs, respectively a citizen of Russia, a subject of the Emperor of Austria, and a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and residents of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mud- Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to' provide a shoe for walking over ground which is swampy or marshy or composed of mud too soft to support human beings with ordinary shoes.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan view of our improved mud shoe; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3 is a cross section of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, are side views of the shoe, showing it in various po- 1,

sitions as it is raised from ground composed of mud.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a fralne composed of wood or other light and strong material and preferably, although not necessarily, of elliptical form. Secured at their ends to the under side of said frame are parallel strips 2 of similar material spaced apart at proper intervals. 3, 4, indicate front and rear transversely extending platforms or supports for the foot, secured by screws 6 through their ends to the elliptical frame 1, and to the longitudinally extending strips 2, between which strips 2 and said platforms are interposed spacing blocks 5. A heel support 7, preferably of sheet metal, is secured to the rear platform 4, and short canvas bands S are secured at their outer ends to the front platform 3, the inner edges. of said bands being secured around the ordinary shoe by laces 9 through eyelets 11 in said bands adjacent to their inner edges. The central portion of a strap 12 is secured to the two central longitudinal strips 2 by means of a superposed block 13 and by screws 14 extending through said block and strap and screwed into said strips. Said strap is adapted to surround the heel portion of the ordinary shoe and is provided at one end with a suitable buckle 16. A sheet of strong canvas 20 is provided, of form approximating that of the frame 1, and the edge of this sheet is secured all around the Specification of Letters latnt.

by the frame.

l Patentes-May14,1918.

edge ofthe frame by. nails 1or .tacks-17 Said sheet,vhowever, does not fit tightly 'against the frame, but hangs loosely therefrom., be-

ing of greater area than the area bounded At the front and rear ends of the shoe there are secured to the frame pieces 18, 19 of sheet metal, curved to conform to the curvature of the frame, and depending below the same a sufficient distance to prevent the shoe slipping on the ground by its penetration into the same.

One of the dilicu'lties to be overcome in walking upon soft mud is the difficulty of raising the shoe from the mud. Mud shoes made out of wooden boards or the like would be a failure, because of the ditliculty of raising the board from off the mud, this difficulty being occasioned by the atmospheric suction between the board and the mud when the board is lifted. When the board is pressed down upon the mud, the air is expelled from between the mud and the board, and when the board is again lifted the mud clings to the board on account of the atmospheric suction thus produced.

The way in which this dilliculty is overcome in our invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7. The shoe is readily raised from the mud, for, in the irst place, there is no atmospheric vacuum between the frame and the canvas tending to oppose the lifting of the frame itself. Next, the side portions of the canvas sheet are raised easily with the frame, because of its flexibility and the fact that the air can easily enter between said side portions and the mud adhering thereto, and in a similar manner the whole of the canvas sheet is easily lifted from the mud, the air entering at all points around its sides between the canvas frame and the mud, the central portion of the sheet being the last to adhere to the mud.

We have found by actual trial that a heavy man with the aid of these mud shoes can walk without any difficulty upon mud so soft that a pole, properly guided in its descent, can sink therein to a depth of ten feet or more by its own wei ht. l

While we speak of our invention as applied to a shoe for human beings, that being the most important use of the invention, it is understood that the invention is not restricted thereto, as horses shoes may be made in the same manner, as may also the shoes or treads for Wheels of vehicles or for any other objeotewhch lit my reqnred to moven any manner upon mud.

We claim:

`Copies of this ypatent moy" be' obtained for Washington; CJ

and secure/dat its edges to the vedges of said' frame, means for securing the frame to the fnobj ect vto* loel 'supported bythe' shoe;V and zt p'eeeof sheet metal Secured to the frame and adapted to enter the ground to prevent 15 lizheehoe slipping thereon.

'IHEODOR KURRELL.` f

HEINRICH SCHNEIDER.

JULIUS HELMS. 

